It is important for all consumers to be informed about unfair or deceptive practices by some businesses in order to make well informed decisions and choices before they purchase things or hire a business to do work in their homes.
As a painting company in Ottawa that depends on word of mouth referrals, we felt it was important to bring to the attention of homeowners and consumers how they can be deceived by fake online reviews. It could be your local restaurant, hairdresser, or contracting company things can be altered to make them seem better than what they really are. This article is only meant to be informative so that consumers can make the best informed decisions.
Online Reviews For Local Businesses
Things are not always what they might seem especially when reading things on the internet. You might be searching for a particular product sold at your local small store or a company that you want to hire to do work in your home, and as you search you end up reading reviews for local businesses that kind of have you scratching your head and wondering how and why do they all sound the same.
CBC Marketplace has created a very informative video about fake online reviews. It showcases how some businesses pay to have fake reviews inputted on popular websites, to help them appear to be the absolute best. We encourage you to watch the 22 minute video to get a better understanding of how things may not always be what they appear and to know the difference between honest and fake reviews, so that you can make the right choice the next time you are trying to decide which is the better business or product to choose.
How To Tell The Difference Between Real and Fake Reviews
Knowing the difference between real and fake reviews available online is not that easy, but there is one sure thing that you can always trust and that is your gut instinct.
When you read through some online reviews take note of a few things. Notice if they all kind of read the same with the same wording, if they sound repetitive, and if they sound to good to be true they probably were paid reviews.
Unfortunately some businesses do pay people to input online reviews for their products or services. This deception is frustrating to consumers, and should be clear red flags to make you think twice before believing everything you read.
Some companies pay other online review sites to list their businesses and for a certain amount of $$$ money per month this online review business will make sure that the business receives positive reviews. They are also paid to have negative reviews removed. If a business receives a bad or negative review they pay the online source to have it removed or edited. Now this does not seem fair your right, but it is the reality of all things online.
A video that describes how online reviews are edited and how people are hired to make fake reviews are informative, eye opening videos put together by CBC Marketplace . The deceptive practice of companies paying to have your review removed or edited or hiring people to say exactly what they want to boost theirs sales is unfair to consumers.
Reviews For Painters In Ottawa
We did not post this informative video to boast about being the best painters in Ottawa or the best painting company in Ottawa but rather we felt it necessary to inform all consumers and to give you the power of knowledge to make an informed decision when choosing a business to deal with.
We hope that the information provided in this article is helpful and provides guidance for all consumers to make informed decisions before believing everything they read.
This post was originally published on Jun 8, 2015 and edited on Apr 27, 2020
